Dissemination and Implementation Science

Implementation science is the study of methods that influence the integration of evidence-based interventions into practice settings. Dissemination is the process of spreading knowledge and information to these settings.

Key Points

Implementation science seeks to understand the barriers and facilitators that influence successful implementation of effective interventions. How an intervention is implemented can impact the outcomes in ways the researcher never intended.

Translating research into practice is a complex process that involves: disseminating the information to clinicians, clinicians adopting the program and successfully implementing it into their setting, and the sustainability of the intervention.

Implementation science enhances the extent to which intervention research is generalizable, representative, and comprehensive in order to increase public health impact.

To address complex health issues, researchers, clinicians and communities need to work together and share their knowledge and expertise to increase the number of evidence-based interventions that are implemented in real-world practices.

We need more creative and rigorous dissemination efforts, beyond journal publications and meeting presentations, to increase the number of evidence-based interventions that are implemented in real-world practices.

Why is the study of dissemination and implementation important?

It takes an average of 17 years for 14% of research to translate into practice.1 People may thus experience a significant delay in, or never be offered, interventions that have been proven to improve health.

To inform design of evidence-based interventions that can be successfully applied in real-world settings, improving health.

Increasing the number of interventions that translate into practice can have a direct and positive impact on the public’s health by increasing access to approaches that have been demonstrated to improve health in diverse populations.